Chapter 123 : Liaoning
The dust on the Loess Plains subsided, and only the groans of the Twin Venerables, whose qi centers had been destroyed, scattered in the wind.
I stared intently at the black lotus patterned token given to by the Divine Physician Seong I-han.
-Kukuku, the Sa Ma Clan, you say. Isn't that the main family of Sa Ma-ui, that venomous snake of a Strategist for the Demonic Cult Leader?
-You must be careful. They are mbers of the Demonic Cult but also a family of shadows that has built an independent force. The Dark Venerable's legacy they guard is much trickier to handle than other divine items.
My eyes glead with interest.
Sa Ma Clan.
Even in the mories of my past life, they were the most shrouded group within the Demonic Cult.
Even the Cult Leader Hyeokryeon Hwi used to keep their main family in check at one ti.
To think the token of such a Sa Ma Clan Head was in the hands of the Divine Physician, fate was truly strange.
"Let's return to the carriage for now."
At my single word, the Small Snow Squad mbers moved in perfect order.
The Twin Venerables, who had beco cripples, were abandoned there.
Survival on the plains for those who had already lost their martial prowess was a matter to be left to the will of the heavens.
Inside the carriage, which began to move again.
Contrary to the storm-like battle outside, the air inside had sunk heavily in a different sense.
Seol Ye-rin, Cheon Deung-jin, and Seong Sang-ah.
The gazes of the three won scanned my entire body.
My martial prowess, which had crushed two of the Ten Venerables under the Heavens without a single scratch, made them feel sothing beyond awe.
"Young Master, please have a cup of tea here. You must have used a lot of energy."
Cheon Deung-jin held out a teacup with a bright smile.
As expected of the daughter of the Potala Palace Lord, Cheon Jeok-pa, firm trust and affection toward were burning like flas in her eyes.
Then Seol Ye-rin intervened with a voice harboring a cold chill.
"Jin, stability cos before tea for the Young Master right now. It would be better for to check his pulse with the true qi of the North Sea."
As Seol Ye-rin's hand tried to head toward my wrist, Seong Sang-ah snapped her dicine box shut and smiled languidly.
"Both of your devotions are extre. However, checking the patient's condition first is proper etiquette. Releasing acupoints is my specialty."
At the restarted battle of nerves, Wi Ji-yeong curled up in the corner of the carriage, and I swallowed a hollow laugh and changed the subject.
"You must have heard what the Twin Venerables said. The words left by Seol Cheon-u."
At my serious voice, the won's gazes changed.
I didn't forget to add the story about the Ice Emperor, Seol Cheon-u.
"So he was a North Sea Martial God."
"He said he would appear at the place closest to the sky on the day all Ten Venerables under the Heavens gather."
I nodded at Seong Sang-ah's summary.
"The place closest to the sky…… Where could that be?"
"At first I thought it was the Potala Palace, but there were no traces of the Ice Emperor there. Then it could be the peak of Mount Kunlun, or perhaps a place we don't know."
"Could it be…… the highest place in the North Sea Ice Palace, the Eternal Snow Mountain?"
At Seol Ye-rin's question, I looked out the window instead of answering.
"Eternal Snow Mountain?"
"It is the highest mountain in the North Sea."
"I haven't been there."
Seol Cheon-u's arrangent was calling across hundreds of years.
Gathering the divine items wasn't simply to beco stronger.
A stepping stone to find the Ice Emperor, Seol Cheon-u.
"Then are we returning to the North Sea again now?"
At Seong Sang-ah's question, I fiddled with the token in my bosom and shook my head.
"No, it's not ti yet. Although there is a possibility that the Eternal Snow Mountain of the North Sea is the place Seol Cheon-u ntioned, the premise of 'the day all Ten Venerables under the Heavens gather' was attached. I currently have four divine items. I haven't even gathered half yet."
My gaze headed beyond the window, deep into the east of the Central Plains.
"To complete the board laid out by the Ice Emperor, I must chase the whereabouts of the remaining divine items. For now, we go to Liaoning as planned."
At those words, Moyong Geum, who was running alongside the carriage, brought his horse closer as if he had been waiting.
His face was glistening with awe for , who had just crushed the Ten Venerables under the Heavens.
"A wise judgnt, Master! Liaoning is not only the base of our Moyong Clan, but also a gathering place for information connecting Hebei and Shandong. Clues about the Heavenly Cry Zither, the legacy of the Zither Venerable, are definitely there as well."
Moyong Geum was already treating not just as a simple VIP, but as soone he had to serve with the fate of his family on the line.
"As soon as we arrive in Liaoning, I will open the family's secret library as well as provide the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron twin swords I promised. I will mobilize all connections of the Moyong Clan rchant Guild to find the whereabouts of the Ten Venerables under the Heavens!"
"Thank you."
After answering Moyong Geum, I climbed up to the carriage roof again and sat cross-legged.
I had to manage the enlightennt gained from the battle just now.
Iron, Fighting, Poison, Buddhist.
Energies with four different properties were swirling inside my qi center.
Especially the 'black barrier' created by mixing the Buddhist Venerable's dharma power and the Demonic Cult's demonic qi was solid enough to surprise even myself.
-Kukuku, as the divine items increase, your body is becoming a single 'vessel'.
-Be careful. The next divine item, the Heavenly Cry Zither, is an item that handles Sound Arts. The mont the harmony of energies breaks, the four forces inside your body might run wild.
I slowly steadied my breathing while listening to the advice of the Sword Venerable and the Demon Queen.
At that mont, the voices of the won were heard from inside the carriage again.
"Young Master, you must receive my assistance when we go to Liaoning. A unique Fire Qi unknown to outsiders flows in the Sa Ma Clan. It is safe only if I, with the Extre Yang Body, am by your side."
At Cheon Deung-jin's bold claim, Seol Ye-rin's voice beca even colder.
"Jin, Liaoning is close to the North Sea and has frequent sea breezes. The martial arts of the Ice Palace are suitable for managing cold. I will guard the Young Master's side."
"Oh my, everyone has no regard for the Young Master's health. If the climate of the Central Plains changes, he will suffer from sleep disorders first; it will be hard to endure without my Calming Scent, you know?"
As Seong Sang-ah's relaxed laughter was added, the carriage beca an invisible battlefield once again.
I let out a deep sigh on the roof.
Balancing between these three won was tens of thousands of tis more exhausting than dealing with the Ten Venerables under the Heavens.
I decided to move to the carriage where the Divine Physician was riding.
Lightly throwing my body from the carriage roof, I stepped on the footboard of the carriage the Divine Physician Seong I-han was riding and seeped inside soundlessly.
Unlike the previous carriage where the won's fierce fighting spirit boiled, a strange silence hovered here along with the bitter scent of herbs tickling the nose.
"Oho, Third Young Master. You managed to escape that hot bed of thorns?"
Seong I-han, who was sitting back leisurely organizing his dicine cabinet, burst into hearty laughter.
Moyong Geum, who was organizing letters beside him, jumped up in surprise as soon as I entered.
"Master! What brings you to this humble place yourself?"
"I needed so ti to think quietly for a mont."
I sat down and cast my gaze toward Seong I-han.
"Elder, about that token you showed earlier. You said the Sa Ma Clan Head owes you a debt; do you know anything more about that place?"
Seong I-han stroked his white beard and narrowed his eyes.
"You an that friend Sa Ma Gang. He puts on an air of dignity on the outside, but in reality, he's an eccentric human with one foot in the shadows. But he is a man who repays debts definitely. If you have that token, a bloodless entry up to the entrance of the Black Lotus Cave, the forbidden area of the Sa Ma Clan, will be possible."
"Black Lotus Cave……."
"The Sa Ma Clan is also the root of the Demonic Cult Strategist Sa Ma-ui. Wouldn't you know better?"
I nodded. The face of the Demonic Cult Strategist, Sa Ma-ui, flashed through my mind.
The most trusted strategist of the Cult Leader Hyeokryeon Hwi, and at the sa ti, the person to be most wary of.
The Sa Ma Clan was a supply route in the Central Plains and a massive information network he left to support the throne of the Demonic Cult.
"I know the Strategist Sa Ma-ui well, but I don't know much about Clan Head Sa Ma Gang."
At my words, Seong I-han tilted his head.
"Is that so? Sa Ma Gang suffered from qi deviation while practicing poison arts in the past. I had quite a hard ti fixing that. I received that token then."
I stared at the Loess Plains flowing past the window.
The fact that the Sa Ma Clan's token was in the Divine Physician's hands, I couldn't rule out the possibility that they tried to draw into their territory through the Divine Physician.
'Would it have been better to stop by the Demonic Cult first?'
No.
I shook my head.
Hyeokryeon Mu and Hyeokryeon Hwi.
As long as those two were in the Demonic Cult, what would happen if I returned was obvious.
There was a high possibility of fighting over the position of Young Cult Leader.
Even though I entered as a live-in son-in-law of the Ice Palace, Hyeokryeon Hwi was always keeping a close eye on .
'By the way, I wonder if Elder Brother returned safely?'
Hyeokryeon Hwi wouldn't be aiming for Eldest Brother's life yet.
***
At that ti, the second son of the Demonic Cult Leader, Hyeokryeon Mu, was sitting in a pavilion with good scenery in Jiangnan of the Central Plains.
Beside Hyeokryeon Mu, who was leisurely tilting a wine cup while wearing a silk robe, lay a famous zither cherished by Central Plains experts, and on the table, a map marked with famous restaurants and scenic spots of Jiangnan was spread out instead of the Demonic Cult's affairs.
As if uninterested in the Cult Leader's orders or power struggles, Hyeokryeon Mu had left the Hundred Thousand Mountains under the pretext of touring the Central Plains for several years.
But it wasn't simple tourism.
"Young Master, news has arrived from Hebei."
Below the pavilion, a man dressed as an ordinary innkeeper knelt.
He was a mber of the Roaming Shadow Squad, Hyeokryeon Mu's personal intelligence organization.
"Speak. What kind of trouble has my youngest brother caused this ti?"
Hyeokryeon Mu asked with a charming smile on his lips.
The intelligence network Hyeokryeon Mu built while touring the Central Plains was moving more astutely than the Black Shadow Unit, the official organization of the Demonic Cult.
"Third Young Master Hyeokryeon Yeom pacified the Western Regions and suppressed the Ten Venerables Twin Venerables in a single breath on the plains of Hebei. He is currently heading to Liaoning with the Holy Hand Divine Physician."
Hyeokryeon Mu's wine cup stopped.
"……The Twin Venerables? The Ten Venerables under the Heavens alone?"
Putting down the empty wine cup, he burst into a low laugh.
"Hahaha! Hyeokryeon Hwi will grab the back of his neck when he hears this news."
Hyeokryeon Mu's eyes narrowed.
"Where is the Strategist?"
"Strategist Sa Ma-ui is currently crossing over to the Central Plains."
"To think the Strategist would really move just because a problem arose in the Sa Ma Clan."
Hyeokryeon Mu stood up from his seat and secured the jade sword at his waist.
"I guess the tour ends here. Since Liaoning isn't that far, as a brother, I should at least show my face."
As Hyeokryeon Mu snapped his fingers, the Roaming Shadow Squad mbers guarding the surroundings of the pavilion instantly disappeared into the shadows.
"Let's go. To Liaoning. I must confirm with my own eyes how much the monster of our family has grown."
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